Eighty to ninety percent of the energy consumed worldwide is derived from fossil fuels, of which there are finite proven recoverable reserves. Further, the consumption and production of energy continues to grow worldwide year after year. In the United States, the magnitude of the importation of fossil fuels, both as a percentage and in terms of raw numbers, impacts many of the most pressing issues, including national security, geopolitics, the trade deficit, the economy and the environment. One way to help slow the growth in fossil fuel consumption or perhaps even to reduce fossil fuel consumption is to produce energy more efficiently or, in other words, to produce more energy per unit of fuel. There is thus a strong need to find ways to more efficiently use fossil fuels.